Replace systemd with busybox + minirc

For the minimalists out there, who want to know what is going on on their computer, who use a simple setup that doesn't depend on the fancy features of systemd and who want to get rid of it without going back to sysvinit, there is hope:

BUSYBOX!!

Busybox contains an init program, which does the thing an init program is supposed to do: Be the parent of all processes. But what about initscripts? It turns out that if you know exactly what you want your system to do, you can easily script it yourself.

I wrote an init script to do that, called "minirc" for "minimalistic rc script". Obviously it should be adapted to your use case, it just works on my machine^TM:

Re: Replace systemd with busybox + minirc

Okay, the more and more I contemplate this, the more and more I'm tempted to try it as one of those "just because I can" projects. Have you contemplated setting up your "minit" with a PKGBUILD so this can be installed and maintained as a package?

All the best,

-HG

"All errors are ᴘᴇʙᴋᴀᴄ errors—It's just a matter of narrowing down which keyboard and chair." -Trilby\ldots

Re: Replace systemd with busybox + minirc

mdev loads modules too.

One thing you'll lose by going with mdev is udev's ACL handing to give you permissions for audio, video and such. Ditching systemd also means losing logind, so anything using polkit (udisks, networkmanager, ...) won't work. It's possible to handle all that with good old unix groups though: https://gist.github.com/4013294/ccacedd … 92d6a2bddb

The other thing you'll lose is X's input hotplug handling. Which means you'll need to configure X by using InputDevice sections so that the xf86-input-keyboard/xf86-input-mouse drivers will be used instead of evdev. The mdev-like-a-boss stuff will be of help here: https://github.com/slashbeast/mdev-like-a-boss

Re: Replace systemd with busybox + minirc

Little offtop. I just wonder if it is possible to replace with busybox not only init subsystem but also other parts of core. Does anyone succeed or have experience with it? I tried long time ago but with no luck :-(Here nice wiki poage with PKGBUILDs links https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Base2busybox

Re: Replace systemd with busybox + minirc

I don't know about that linking because I just followed the README and edited rc-script to work with my computer. I uncommented reboot/shutdown things from inittab and it gives the same error with 'ctrl+alt+del' shutdown method too.

Re: Replace systemd with busybox + minirc

Shinryuu wrote:

I don't know about that linking because I just followed the README and edited rc-script to work with my computer. I uncommented reboot/shutdown things from inittab and it gives the same error with 'ctrl+alt+del' shutdown method too.

While running then, try `busybox reboot` and see what happens. I have a feeling that it might work just fine. Not sure though.

Re: Replace systemd with busybox + minirc

As HalosGhost said, the FAQ describes a way to shutdown the system (kill -USR2 1). Don't know how to reboot yet. The line about reboot was removed recently from the inittab because it doesn't work, as you pointed out.